A brief stop at a restored fernery at Ascog, then we went to Mount Stewart which was one of the most amazing buildings I have ever seen – pricy but well worth it as along with the house there are some great gardens and walks. The house itself is so intricate and decorated that you could spend a whole day in each room if so inclined. There was a great Victorian bathroom here as well and you can actually sleep in the bedroom and have this as your en suite as part of their wedding package (I shudder to think how much this would cost though).

Finally we went to Scalpsy Bay where there was a lovely beach, I paddled in the sea and we saw some curious seals peering at us.

A lovely Island, so peaceful and beautiful, particularly on a sunny September weekday.

This time she was bound out from Greenock, round by Dunoon (where we got on), out to Bute, then along the coast to Largs, call in at Milport and then right round the isle of Arran.

We had a rather nice (though long) day. The weather stayed good all the way out and then tipped it down all the way back. Actually this is about the best weather I have ever experienced on the Waverley as I have been on her many times and it always seems to rain.

It was quite odd because I had never been on the ship on a weekday before, and the passengers were both older and much more restrained than at the weekend. Specifically no one was singing in the bar or had to be dug out from under a table after nearly missing their disembarkation point.

We didn’t get home until after 9pm and tucked into a nice Pepper Pot as prepared by R (when I say ‘prepared’ I mean he put the one I made the night before in the oven).

The first picture is of a seagull which hitched a lift all the way to Arran. I’m not sure if it stayed all the way back or whether it was abandoning Dunoon in favour of a new island lifestyle